France retain FIRA-AER Euro Beach Rugby Cup

25/07/2012 - 14/09/2012

The beach of Les Sables d’Or near Biarritz, France, celebrated the 20th Anniversary of the Anglet Beach Rugby Festival and played host for the second year in a row to the 2nd edition of the FIRA-AER Euro Beach Rugby Cup last weekend. In a region synonymous with its passion for Rugby and renowned for its beaches, 10 nations from across Europe fought it out on two pitches over two days in front of a large international crowd which saw inaugural champions France retain their crown.

With heat proving to be a major factor, competitors from France, Belgium, England, Georgia, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Spain and Ukraine faced the challenging conditions of sand underfoot and a blazing sun above. The cool waters of the Atlantic offered a welcome reprieve between matches for players and spectators alike.

Following the teams’ arrival in Anglet on Thursday, a welcome reception including representatives of the Mayor’s office, the Comité Côte Basque Landes and FIRA-AER was held at Anglet Olympique Rugby Club where prior to a welcome dinner for all, captains and managers were briefed on the tournament rules and format. Encouraging a quick passing game with fast hands, the rules followed closely those of the IRB Leisure Laws for Beach Touch Rugby. Games consisted of two five-minute halves with each team having five players and three substitutes at their disposal. Players could be substituted any number of times but only if the team was in possession. The object of the Game being to score a try (one point, no conversions) by grounding the ball in the opponent’s In-goal area. Each team has three attempts (“Touches”) in possession after which (or following a try) possession changes sides. To “touch” a player, the opposing player must touch the attacking player with two hands on either the shorts or jersey.

France kicked off Day One of the tournament on Friday July 22 with a win over Russia and issued a warning to any challengers by topping the group with five wins from five in the first day’s pool and classification matches to top the rankings. England (2nd), Portugal (3rd), Italy (4th) and Georgia (5th) challenged closely behind to ensure the host team knew they weren’t in for an easy time. Russia, Spain, Romania, Belgium and Ukraine finished 6th to 10threspectively.

Following a rest day on Saturday where the focus of the Beach Rugby Festival turned to the club teams and women’s tournaments, the FIRA-AER Euro Beach Rugby Cup teams were back on the sand, divided into two pools of five based on the results from Friday’s matches. France, Italy, Georgia, Romania and Belgium made up Teams 1 to 5 in Pool A while England, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Ukraine made up Pool B.

Having adjusted to the conditions and aware that the business end of the match schedule was approaching, there was a noticeable increase in intensity for the last of the pool matches. A leisure form of the game it may be but the teams were taking this 100% seriously and a number of tight games saw Belgium draw with Georgia 1-1 and England finish level with Portugal, 4-4. Comprehensive wins for France and Italy were echoed in Pool B with big win margins for England and Russia. Disaster struck for the English however in their head-to-head with Russia in their last pool game where a lack of concentration and indiscipline cost the English dear. Having lead a strong Russian outfit at half-time, the English felt the heat, conceding a penalty try and having a man sent-off, eventually losing the game 3-4 and with it their chance to top the pool.

At the end of the last round of pool games, Pool A finished with France, undefeated again, as Pool winners followed by Italy, Georgia, Romania and Belgium. Following their victory over England, Russia took 1st place in the pool, followed closely by Portugal and England with Spain and Ukraine finishing off in 4th and 5th place respectively.

After a brief period of respite for the teams to cool down and regroup while spectators were entertained by the VIP matches, featuring well-known players past and present, it was time to step into the arena once again for the final round of matches.

There was no sign of fatigue creeping in as the final round proved to be the most hotly contested. The French held their nerve to beat a well-drilled Portuguese side 2-1 in the Cup Semi-Final while Russia, buoyed by winning Pool B, overcame a powerful Italian side 3-1 to set-up a France-Russia Final and a repeat of the tournament’s opening game. In the other matches, England made amends for earlier disappointment by beating Georgia 4-1 in the Plate Final while Belgium beat Ukraine 4-1 to win the Bowl. 4-1 also secured a win for Romania over Spain in the match for 7th place. The 2nd last match of the tournament proved a thriller, Italy drawing 2-2 with Portugal after regular time, resulting in sudden death situation where each team has a player removed from the pitch. Whoever scored first would seal victory and an opportunistic take by the Italians near the Portuguese line resulted in a Golden Try, 3-2 being enough for the Italians to finish 3rd overall. A cruel end to Portugal’s tournament but they can be pleased with their overall performance.

A massive crowd, spurred on by a pre-match Giant Haka led by former All-Black Michael Clamp, contributed to the festival atmosphere with horns and chants of “ALLEZ LES BLEUS”, as they eagerly awaited the arrival of the finalists. The patience was rewarded with an early French try shortly after kick-off – a great start for the French following a break up the left wing. A second followed shortly after, this time up the right, French captain Jérémie Ravier finishing with a spectacular pirouette over the line to ground the ball. It seemed it was game over just before half-time when France scored their third, the attack wrong-footing the Russian defence with a dummy pass to score under the beach’s inflatable posts. But the Russians were not here to make up the numbers and began their fight-back, scoring two tries in quick succession to rattle the French defence and the home support while delighting the neutrals.

Alas for Russia it was not to be and France stood firm, holding their nerve to make it to the final whistle to win the match 3-2 and continue their reign as FIRA-AER Euro Beach Rugby Cup Champions, justifiably considering that despite some victories by the narrowest of margins, they came through the tournament unbeaten.